OXFORD TOWN – Craig Claiborne was hired as the first male food editor of a major newspaper. It came about as the result of crass opportunism if not (as is hinted) chicanery, but The New York Times provided Claiborne with the preeminent platform to fulfill his mission. Author Thomas McNamee describes Claiborne’s hiring as nothing less than “advancing the nation’s culinary culture.” Turn to Page 12 in Oxford Town issue No. 971 to read a review about McNamee’s new book, a biography about Claiborne titled “The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne and the American Food Renaissance.” (March 22, 2012, Page 12)